Eddie Howe’s promise Newcastle United are close to the Champions League

The 45-year-old has guided the club to the brink of Champions League qualification in his first full season as coach.

A point against Premier League thugs Leicester at St James’ Park tomorrow night will be enough to secure a place in the top four after Liverpool’s draw with Aston Villa last night.

But even ending a 20-year wait to return to Europe’s biggest stage at the end of a season that also included their first appearance in a major cup final since 1999 would not please the Magpies head coach.

When asked if that’s the case, Howe said: “Unfortunately yes, which means you’re on a kind of assembly line that you can’t get off.

“Everyone will say, ‘That’s a great achievement.'” I can only imagine that the next challenge will come and then I’ll be prepared for the next challenge, because you can’t sit back and say, ‘Well, I’ll take mine a month off and going to the beach to relax.”

“The opposite is true: ‘Okay, now how can we best be successful in the next phase?’ So it’s like you’re constantly in a cycle of trying to improve.”

Newcastle’s rise since the completion of the takeover by Amanda Staveley’s consortium in October 2021 has been meteoric and while the Saudi-backed owners have poured more than £250m into the squad, the impact of Howe and his staff has been remarkable.

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A shared sense of purpose has been fostered at the club and the former Bournemouth manager revealed Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodousi remain the center of attention.

Howe said: “I invited Amanda and Mehrdad to speak to the squad, I think that was about ten days ago, just to be in touch with them and the owners because it’s so important as a club that we’re from top to bottom are one.” Underside.

“They came in, they talked to the players, they were absolutely brilliant. It was actually a nice moment, just for everyone in the room to gather their thoughts on each other and then try to focus on the last few games we’ve had and that had a positive impact on us.”

Should tomorrow’s game go as Newcastle hoped, the focus will shift to summer recruitment in preparation for a challenge that will come unexpectedly quickly, although Howe is realistic about what Staveley and her partners can achieve.

He said: “No matter what happens, we will not have a bottomless pit. We will be under strict conditions. Whatever we do in the transfer market, we have to be very smart.

“We’ve been outstanding in the three transfer windows I’ve had and we need to continue that.”